A book review of
In, But Not Of
by Hugh Hewitt

For a graduation present, I received In, But Not Of by Hugh Hewitt from some old family friends. The book calls itself “A Guide to Christian Ambition and the Desire to Influence the World.” I’m assuming these friends had heard of my Presidential ambitions and thought that this book would be of help along the way.

This book’s premise is clearly made in the introduction. Hewitt says, “The creation and defense of religious liberty requires men and women with power and influence…My view is that Christians of appropriate ability should seek these positions and should use them to protect and extend religious liberty.”

Hewitt spends the vast majority of the rest of his book giving “practical” advice on seeking and acquiring positions of influence. These tips range anywhere from learning the history of Western Civilization to playing golf to avoiding tattoos and debt to choosing a church to…wait for it…starting a blog. He also gives advice on credentials, contacts, and conversation. I found the book to be quite thought provoking, and I, a political studies student, found much of Hewitt’s practical advice helpful.

However, as I read the book, I found its advice a bit off-center. I believe Hewitt makes some pretty big assumptions in his introductory premises. I am not saying that I completely disagree with them; I think they are off the mark. God certainly does call some Christians to these influential positions, but I think Hewitt places an undue emphasis on these positions as the means by which Christians should influence the world.

In one chapter, Hewitt expounds on the importance of solid credentials. He lists twelve rules asserting the importance of credentials. The general idea of the first one is “status matters.” The rest of these rules range from a recommendation to get more than a B.A. to a suggestion to attend different schools for undergraduate and graduate studies. After the list, Hewitt says, “[These rules] are, however, generally true and generally should be followed by individuals aiming to impact their world.” Hewitt then supports his statements on credentials by quoting Philippians 3:5-6, where Paul does indeed list some of his credentials. But Hewitt fails to mention that only a few verses later Paul declares all his credentials to be rubbish—a nice translation for dung.

Paul certainly had impressive credentials, but many influential people in the Bible did not—Peter and Elijah are near the top of my list. I would say credentials are not nearly as important to Christian influence as a commitment to the word of God and the euphoric message it proclaims. If you want to impact the world for Christ, I would recommend your read the book of Acts. The membership of the early church goes from 120 people in a room (Chapter 1) to being accused of “turning the world upside down” (Chapter 17). They did not do this because they were in influential positions. They had this impact because they were committed to the gospel, even to the point of death.

I did find Hugh Hewitt’s book both helpful and though-provoking; he does give some good advice to aspiring young politicians. But if you have the ambition to influence your world for Christ, be radically committed to the Gospel. If you have this commitment, you will—no matter what position you hold—turn your world upside down and have an impact for Christ.

You can visit Hugh Hewitt's blog at www.hughhewitt.com